As the military onslaught against Boko Haram insurgents approaches the two-week mark, new details are emerging of a sinister plot by the dreaded sect to cause destruction on a scale that would have surely dwarfed even its most famed attacks in the past.
According to the Vanguard, before the May 14 declaration of a state of emergency in the North East by President Jonathan, credible intelligence had revealed plans by the sect to hijack commercial planes fully loaded with passengers and use it to attack one of three notable buildings in the nation’s capital.
These buildings are Aso Rock, the seat of the federal government, the Glass House headquarters of the Central Bank in the Central Business District and the Four Towers headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
It was gathered that the terrorists would have carried out the attack on Aso Rock and NNPC Towers in a manner similar to the September 11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York. The aim is to send a message that they have taken over the affairs of the country.
The grim revelations do not end there.
Reliable security sources also say that the recent acquisition of anti-aircraft and long-range surface-to-air guns by Boko Haram was intended to shoot down aircraft that flew over the north-eastern part of the country. This was made especially ominous by the fact that the terrorists controlled significant tracts of territory in both Yobe and Borno states.
According to the sources, “Upon our discovery of their plot, security agencies warned the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other aviation agencies to stop local and international aircraft from flying over north-eastern airspace.
“This warning was heeded and for about three weeks before the state of emergency was declared, commercial aircraft, both local and international were diverted from the North East with the exception of military aircraft”.
“It was when we tried to unearth the heavy weapons capability of the Boko Haram sect that troops of the multinational Joint Task Force on a reconnaissance mission to the mosque in Baga, where some of the anti-aircraft guns were to be mounted, were attacked. When reinforcements came, they fired the weapons at the soldiers.
“As I am talking to you, many people will not know that in one of the deadly Boko Haram attacks and coordinated bombings in Kano, that resulted in the destruction of the headquarters of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 1, and the killing of over 120 people, including about 40 Policemen, over 15 Immigration, Customs and Federal Road Safety officers, the terrorists tried to get to Kano Airport”, the source said.
The Vanguard had reported in April, that intelligence had revealed a plot to shoot down the presidential jet during President Goodluck Jonathan’s official visit to Borno and Yobe states. The security apparatus swiftly deployed interception technology to forestall the attack.
[Photo H/T: AFP/Vanguard]
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